


before dawn.

by lanewrites



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, also, are these gonna be one shots?, idk how to tag things y'all, there will be more stuff that i add onto this, this is just a dumb fluff piece as i find my muse, will i learn to read? stay tuned, will they actually be chapters that go with each other and make a story?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 02:01:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18085289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanewrites/pseuds/lanewrites
Summary: teenagers being teenagers for as long as they can, as well as they can, after losing two of their closest friends. god, is that harder than it needs to be.





	before dawn.

Soft footsteps filled the confines of Sam's room, the quiet padding of her socked feet only semi-rhythmic in the timing. Her eyes were closed and she was swaying, dancing around the space with the practiced ease that came to anyone who did  _anything_ as often as she did this. The songs may have changed throughout the years, and the dancing itself may have become a bit more evolved with her age, but Samantha Giddings was nothing if not consistent. She pressed to the height of her pointed toes, arms dipping low through the empty air in a half-assed attempt at resembling a ballerina.  She tossed a  tiny leap or two into the routine at the different swells in the song playing in her ears. The slightest of smiles resided on her lips as she made a show all her own, each song fading into one just similar enough to keep from disturbing her peace. Hell, to any outsider she may have looked outright crazy, but that was  _precisely_ the reason she saved such performances for the rare occasion she was truly alone. Or, for accuracy’s sake, whenever she thought she was. 

The knock on the door was far too gentle for her to have heard it over the grandiose way the chorus of her song rang through her mind. The voice Josh used to speak through the minuscule space between the door and its frame was too muted to have made any difference. The subtle sound of that door being opened, without so much as a hinge squeak to give it away, left Sam oblivious to the amused eyes now fixated on her moving frame. Wherever she went, one riveted (and two especially entertained) gaze followed, trailing after her in what Chris would later call ‘awe and enthrallment' once it was just the guys again. Josh’s expression, unbeknownst to him, mirrored the girl he stood watching, a smile prodding the corner of his mouth upwards as an idea blossomed. A dumb, light-hearted, very _Josh_  idea, but an idea all the same. Without warning to the two of his friends that  _could_ , in fact, hear him, he’d wordlessly stepped away from his place in the doorway and into the room, smile wider now as he prepared to cut into her dance. It would, after all, scare the living shit out of her and (to a lesser extent, he  _swears_ ) give him a reason to get his hands on her hips. He waited until she’d turned fully toward him once more, and took the opportunity to snake an arm around her waist with a ghostly touch, capturing one of her hands in the same effortless grasp. 

As to be expected, she freaked the fuck out; a gasp pulled into Sam’s throat no sooner than she felt the first sign of contact, eyes prying open as the music once again hit a crescendo, and wrenching herself easily away before pressing a hard shove into Josh’s shoulders, all by instinct. She ripped the earbuds out as she slowly came back down from the daze she had been in, eyes studying her surroundings first in confusion, then in mortification. Her face ran hot as the realization hit her that she had finally been discovered—and by two people who loved to make fun of their friends more than anything else in the world, no less. She placed the cool backs of her hands to each cheek, eyes flitting to Ashley helplessly, as If to silently ask why she hadn’t warned her. All she received in turn was a comically high shrug, shoulders hitting her ears as Ashley opted out of coming up with an excuse. It was clear from her expression that she’d found the show just as enjoyable as the boys had.  

Sam narrowed her eyes, an accusing finger pointing at the two accomplices to the crime, switching between them until it stayed on Ash. “ _You_ , you are just  _them_.” She gestured to Chris with one hand, Josh with the other, before mashing each of her palms together, as if that would clarify her point, “You’re  _both_ of them in a--” she lifted her conjoined hands, brows furrowed in frustration, “-- tinier package!”  

Ashley’s face contorted into an anguished look of betrayal as she lay a hand over her heart. “That is  _honestly_ the worst thing anyone’s ever said to me, Sam. I’m serious. Chris,” she turned to the man next to her who had clearly been biting back his response in an effort to let the redhead get through her own theatrics, “can you check for the knife in my back? I think it’s right there, right between the shoulder blades.” 

Obviously, being called upon was all the permission he’d needed to start speaking. Chris brought each of his hands to rest on Ashley’s closest shoulder, giving her a light jostle. “Hey, cheer up! If you’re just me and Josh, you finally have a sense of humor. Bonus points, you’re devastatingly handsome. And I mean if you’re part Josh, too... well... hm,” he stopped, words lulled into a pause as he made a face of concentration, as though he couldn’t think of any attributes to come from his best friend, “I guess you have no concept of personal space now. So it’s a win,” he pointed to his face as he emphasized that one, “and it’s a lose,” his hand switched to Josh’s direction. His smile during it all was nothing short of shit-eating, until he felt the blow to his stomach from Ashley’s elbow, shortly followed up by the thump of a rolled-up pair of socks hitting him square in the chest. He doubled-over in ardent agony, even though every one of them knew he was exaggerating. “The **_pain_** ,” he clutched his side with enough flair to remind Sam of the horrible acting in most of their group’s hate-watch movies, “I may never walk again...” 

A quiet murmur of objection came from Sam as she looked at the fuzzy socks now resting at Chris’s feet, lower lip stuck out in a pout so subtle that it probably didn’t look like one at all. “ _Those_ are _mine_.” She stretched out a hand to firmly knock against her intruder’s chest again, “And they deserve better than being used as ammunition.” 

Josh tended to the place he’d been pushed with a soothing rub of his fingers, clicking his tongue as he turned his attention back to the girl who’d done it. With a roll of his eyes at Chris and a smile still left from the way Sam had jumped at his presence, he turned back to her as his friend straightened himself out again. “Ouch, Sammy. If you’d hit me any harder, I’d think you almost didn’t want me to dance with you. Then you would’ve bruised my ego  _and_ my sternum.” A pause, then, “And sorry about the socks, truly am, but you heard him. He thinks he has a personality that more people should adopt, and that’s just...  _not true_. Your socks were merely the closest projectile available. It’s a very dog-like training program. If he says anything wrong, Ash and I bop him on the nose and teach him a lesson.” 

Chris scoffed, then snorted, arms crossed over his chest. “The joke’s on you, man. I  _can’t_ learn. My brain shut off the second I left high school.” He stated it as if it were his greatest achievement, puffing out his chest and raising his chin as he looked away. 

Ashley raised an index finger in opposition, head tilted as she considered what he’d said, “Sorry, are you implying you’ve  _ever_ learned?” Though she was trying for ‘serious inquiry’, there was absolutely no hiding the impish smirk she had for even saying it to him at all. 

Unsurprisingly, the smugness in his tone only managed to grow after being insulted. “See? Turns out I’ve never learned  _anything_ . Checkmate, Joshua.” He splayed his arms open wide and his eyebrows raised in a look that actually could have belonged to someone who’d just won an argument. A stifled laugh came from Sam’s direction as she covered her mouth. She  _refused_ to encourage him. 

“Congratulations, you’re a dumbass. Let’s move on to the order of business, shall we?” Josh clapped his hands together in an obnoxious way of gathering everyone’s focus once more. “While I’m sure you’re thrilled to see how we’ve all invaded your privacy and interrupted this Black Swan moment, and that you’ve been so overcome by joy at the fact that I am standing before you that you’ve not had even a moment to wonder why we’re here--” 

Sam groaned as though she’d been gut-punched, lolling her head around her shoulders until she was looking at him once again, “Get to the point, will you? It doesn’t even have to be the  _main_ point; get to  _any_ point at  _all_ , and I will listen.” The plea in her voice that indicated just how tired she was of Josh’s long-winded self-indulgence elicited a quiet snickering from the hall, and even Sam couldn’t stop her smile when she saw the way his attention split to send a playful glower over there. 

“Ash, I  _will_ leave you here. Gives me no pleasure to report, but I can buy Twinkle Toes here a beanie and a box of hair dye.” He raised his arms in a ‘ _just saying_ ’ gesture, a loud laugh spilling from him as the socks from earlier smacked him in the thigh. He crouched to retrieve them, shooting Sam a lackadaisical salute before pressing the ball of fuzz into her hand. “Anyway, Channing Tatum,” he stopped as he recognized the confusion on each of their faces, “come on,  _Step Up_?” A hand waved in the air as if he could physically jog their memories, “Anybody?... Uncultured. All of you. Sammy, we’re going to watch _Ouija_. We wanted to see if you’d like to come along. Though with all the fuckery amongst these two, I’m sure we’ll be way too late to understand any of the plot. So, out of context haunting horror, if you will.” 

“I’m just glad you weren’t calling me a stripper.” Sam mumbled, collecting her hair into her hands before twisting it into its familiar messy bun. Lips pressed into a thin line, she eventually shrugged and began hunting for where she’d last left her jacket. “But I’ll go, sure. Wouldn’t be the week before Halloween if we didn’t emotionally traumatize Ashley.” 

No sooner than the second she’d located the jacket had Josh slung an arm around her neck, expression mischievous as he shot the girl in front of them a beaming grin. “Oh, trust me, there’s plenty of time to do that. Before, during, and after Halloween.”

Sam wriggled out from under the weight of his embrace, shrugging on her jacket as she left the room, turning back only to give him a look of disappointment, “And here I thought you’d have matured by now, and stopped terrorizing one of your  _only_ friends.”  

He slammed a closed fist against his chest and grimaced, “Sam, and I say this with the utmost sincerity, I apologize. Profusely. For anything I've ever said or done in our time together to make you believe that I can evolve as a human.” That made her smile, albeit against her will. 

A nearly silent protest came from Chris as he stepped aside to let the two of them through, head turning with a pout as he watched them go. “How come when he says it, he gets a laugh?” His comment was mostly to Ashley, although they both caught the sight of Josh raising his middle finger above his head as he descended the staircase a few paces after Sam. 

Instead of answering, Ashley just sighed wistfully, lips pulling into a gentle, knowing smile. “They are  _very_ sweet together.” 

“Yeah, well, I wish they’d just freaking get on with it already.” Chris gave an enthusiastic motion toward the staircase, “After you, milady. Gotta get to the car before Josh really does decide to leave us.”

**Author's Note:**

> those last two lines should just say "lane thinks she's cute and original by making the adorkable oblivious couple see what the couple who sees everyone else can't see about themselves" but that isn't as cute or original, so it doesn't.


End file.
